Chapter 187: Li Jingwei

……

After accomplishing the big goal of taking a stake in Amazon, Guo Shouyun inevitably had to go to the Villefort studio, also in Seattle. But there's nothing to be gained here. Counter-Strike 2 has been in development for less than half a year, and Call of Duty is not slow to progress after acquiring Studio in 2015. However, it will take at least a year and a half to complete.

In comparison, "Half-Life" and "Road to Survival" are faster. Especially the former, it will be released in about 4 months, which makes Guo Shouyun look forward to it.

In addition, the three or four million dollars a month that the last few old games have brought to the Villefort studio is not as good as other sister companies, and even the newly established legendary studio, but in general it is not bad.

After some conversation with the executives of Villefort Game Studios, Guo Shouyun flew back to San Francisco.

Returning here again after nearly a month made Guo Shouyun realize that the day of his trapeze might not be far off.

Less than a week after returning to San Francisco, he received a special guest from afar at the Cold Mountain Annex.

"Boss, this is Mr. Li Jingwei of Jianlibao Group. ”

In the reorganization of Hanhua Company, Guo Zhen, who replaced him as the CEO of Hanhua Capital after Zhang Lei was promoted, pointed to an obese old man in a black suit and introduced to Guo Shouyun.

"Hello Mr. Li, I've heard of it for a long time. ”

Guo Shouyun took two steps forward, took the initiative to stretch out his right hand, and said in a warm tone.

Li Jingwei looked at the young man in front of him, his eyes full of surprise. Although he had a brief understanding before, it was not until he actually met that he found that Guo Shouyun was far younger than he imagined. This not only made him more curious about the other party.

After all, in his understanding, the other party earned more than his lifetime wealth in a year.

"You're welcome, Mr. Guo is the real young talent!"

"Thank you, please!"

"Please!"

While walking, the group came to the living room of the Hanshan Courtyard, and after taking their seats, the housekeeper George beckoned the servant to bring up the tea and pastries prepared in advance.

"I know that Mr. Li likes to drink Pu'er, so I specially prepared some!"

"Mr. Guo has a heart!"

"We Chinese people pay attention to being at home, and distinguished guests like Mr. Li who travel thousands of miles naturally want to be hospitable!" said, Guo Shouyun raised the teacup, "Please!"

Li Jingwei nodded, and after a polite word, he picked up the teacup and put it to his mouth and took a sip.

"Lancang Ancient Tea?"

"Mr. Li is really an expert, and he tasted its brand as soon as he drank it!"

"If you drink more, you will naturally know more. However, it is really surprising to be able to taste Canglan ancient tea in Mr. Guo's place. ”

Different from the big brands of Pu'er tea, such as China Tea, Taetea and Xiaguan, Canglan Ancient Tea, Baichatang and Douji are all niche high-end brands that are popular in specific circles. If you don't have a special understanding of Pu'er tea, many Chinese people don't understand the truth, let alone the United States, which is thousands of miles away.

"I also love tea. In addition, to entertain a distinguished guest like Mr. Li, of course, you must be attentive!

"Please!"

After drinking the tea in the cup and refilling the cup, Guo Shouyun said: "Mr. Li, presumably before coming, Zhang Lei and Guo Zhen both told you about our investment strategy for Jianlibao Group. I don't know, what other questions do you have about this?"

Seeing that Guo Shouyun had entered the topic, Li Jingwei's expression also became solemn. After all, Jianlibao Group, as an enterprise that he has guarded for half his life, is related to his net worth. This is also the main reason why he flew all the way from China to the United States to meet the big boss behind Hanhua in person.

"Although Mr. Zhang and Mr. Guo have told me many times, I still want to hear Mr. Guo's investment and business strategy for Jianlibao Group!"

Guo Shouyun nodded slightly, "Jianlibao Group, as the first brand in the field of sports materials in the Chinese market, we are very optimistic about its prospects. Mr. Li's stable operation over the past 20 years has also built up sufficient confidence for us. But to put it mildly, the property dispute between Mr. Li and the Sishui municipal government over Jianlibao has given us an opportunity. ”

Li Jingwei's expression darkened, although he was reluctant to admit it many times, he was really not good at handling the relationship with government departments. Therefore, countless times he planned to follow the example of TCL and Haier and take back the ownership of Jianlibao through management buyouts, but he ran into a wall because of his upright temperament. Up to now, the Sishui Municipal Government has released a message that Jianlibao will not be sold to anyone Li Jingwei.

“… After the successful acquisition of Jianlibao Group, GCA will hire a professional organization to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of its personnel, financial and marketing strategies. Then make some adjustments according to the actual situation. The evaluation and rectification will last for one year, during which we will arrange for Mr. Li to study at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in the United States. The purpose of this is: first, to dilute the tension between you and the Sishui Municipal Government, so as to provide an opportunity for you to continue to take charge of Jianlibao in the future, and the other is to prepare for the listing of Jianlibao Group in the later stage. After all, a CEO with an MBA degree from the world's top business school, as well as a fully formalized management company, is more favored by capital. ”

As for Jianlibao's operation, Mr. Li can rest assured. We have no intention of expanding the product line of Jianlibao Group. During your year in the U.S., its main focus is still on the sports drink market. As for whether there will be new business in the later stage, it depends on the future management of you and Jianlibao. … Is Mr. Li still satisfied with my explanation?"

After thinking for a moment, Li Jingwei nodded, "Mr. Guo's explanation is very clear. ”

"That's good. It's just that Mr. Li wants to be a student for a while in the year of Jiazi. ”

"I live to learn, although I am old, my brain is not confused. After confidently speaking, Li Jingwei hesitated, "However, when I heard Zhang Lei and Guo Zhen talk about the MBO strategy of Jianlibao Group, I once emphasized that the management must be allowed to repurchase five years after your company acquires Jianlibao Group?"

"That's right. Guo Shouyun nodded, "Mr. Li, we have a five-year plan for the development of Jianlibao Group. During this period, we will use GCA's resources to help you grow, including listing, introducing new investors, international development strategy, and a series of content. After five years, when the company's operation is stable, we will consider selling the shares. After all, we at Hanhua also have to consider our own interests!"

Guo Shouyun's sincere words won Li Jingwei's trust.

"I hope that what Mr. Guo said just now will be reflected in the contract in detail. ”

"No problem. ”

After a pause, Guo Shouyun continued: "Mr. Li should be familiar with Mr. Li Ning, right?"

Li Jingwei nodded, Li Ning, the sports brand was established by him. It was only later that he helped the other party to separate Li Ning Sporting Goods Company from Jianlibao Group.

"I hope that Mr. Li can act as an intermediary and contact Mr. Li Ning for us. We at GCA are very interested in Li Ning Sporting Goods Company and hope to invest in it and act as their listing underwriter. ”

Li Jingwei did not shirk the matter of hard work. Moreover, it is likely that everyone will have to work together in the future, and we cannot shirk it.

After a brief chat, Li Jingwei's face showed a tired look. In the end, he is in his sixties, and he has flown from the magic capital to San Francisco for more than ten hours, and his energy and physical strength are basically a matter of course. After asking George to take the other party to the room prepared in advance to rest, Guo Shouyun pulled Guo Zhen to sit down again.

"How's the talk with the Sishui City Government?"

"There are still disagreements within the municipal government on how to deal with Jianlibao, but now the restructuring of state-owned enterprises is a general trend, coupled with the rigid relationship between the government and Li Jingwei, so the entire Sishui municipal government is still inclined to sell. However, it may take some time to open up the joints. Guo Zhendao.

He nodded knowingly, "Don't be stingy with money when necessary." In addition, we are certainly not the only ones who can find the value of Jianlibao. Therefore, we must cut through the mess quickly in this matter. ”

"Understood!"

"One more thing. At present, enterprises in China inevitably have nepotism, cronyism and financial opacity. Therefore, after the acquisition of Jianlibao is completed, the people who hired KPMG should take a good look. We should clean up the black sheep and improve the management system of the enterprise. ”

"Yes!"

"That's right. When dealing with personnel issues, you should keep one thing in mind: focus on the big and let go of the small. After a little punishment of those who are less serious but more capable, be sure to keep them. In addition, when choosing a replacement for Li Jingwei, I don't want those 'bombastic' MBAs, I want 'Xiao Gui Cao Sui'. Guo Shouyun said solemnly.

He does not plan to make great strides in the beverage field in Huaxia, as a PE project, Guo Shouyun only intends to make Jianlibao Group stable profits, and then stable listing, which will bring him a steady stream of income. So, conservative has more appetite for him than radical.

Of course, he doesn't want Jianlibao Group to stop completely. But he would prefer to let Li Jingwei lead this development himself. After all, only the founder of the business knows his business best. Moreover, from the Oriental Magic Water in the 80s to the current Jianlibao Group, which has stood tall for nearly 20 years, it has already shown Li Jingwei's talent in business management.

You must know that in the past 20 years, growing up with Jianlibao, and even more brilliant Feilong, Sanzhu, Aiduo, etc., too many 'corpses' prove the cruelty of the growth environment of China's private enterprises. Those who have survived so far are all strong people in their respective fields.

He respects and trusts this kind of elite after the survival of the fittest!

Li Jingwei did not stay in the United States for long. After chatting with Guo Shouyun about some ideas about the future development of Jianlibao, the two exchanged some views on the Chinese economy, and Guo Zhen accompanied him on a tour of San Francisco most of the time.

As for Guo Shouyun, it's not that he is unwilling, but he really doesn't have time.

……

February 2, 2001, Hills Tower, Mountain View, Silicon Valley.

LinkedIn, which has been established for more than a year and has developed rapidly, has rented this six-storey commercial building with a total office area of 127,000 square meters.

“… Currently, LinkedIn has 24.8 million registered users, with an average monthly growth rate of 67%. The business has expanded from the initial professional networking to eight businesses, including news, blogs, forums, mailboxes, libraries, instant messaging and employment intermediaries. The rich product matrix has greatly improved our user stickiness. In February, we posted $4.39 million in revenue, a new record since LinkedIn was founded. However, I believe that this record will soon be broken because LinkedIn is still making great strides. ”

After LinkedIn CEO Tim George spoke confidently, Guo Shouyun took the lead in applauding.

Soon, loud applause resounded in LinkedIn's largest conference room. More than ten seconds later, Guo Shouyun, who was sitting in the center of the conference room, pressed his palm. As he moved, the atmosphere gradually calmed down.

Today's executive meeting on LinkedIn brought together all the top executives of the company, in addition to him as chairman and Tim George, as well as the company's partner and CTO Alexander Martin, CFO Dunko Verne, CHO Frank Arnell, chief risk officer John Belden, LinkedIn press director Rick Bay, LinkedIn library director Tim Arnold, and Phoenix representative Louis Bowen on behalf of the company.

Looking around, Guo Shouyun, who was in the center of everyone's attention, said in a condensed voice: "The core topic that brings everyone together for discussion today is one: financing!"

Because he had guessed it a long time ago, there was not much commotion about his words, but everyone's eyes became brighter.

"Everybody's clear. Although LinkedIn's revenue is rising step by step, it will even exceed $50 million this year. But these revenues can no longer support the needs of the company's development. Especially in the second half of the year, the internationalization strategy requires a lot of financial support. So, we need new investors. ”

"And how much financing do we need?" Alexander Martin wondered.

As one of the founders of the company, the second largest shareholder after Guo Shouyun and Phoenix Capital, he has far fewer scruples than those present. And the personality relationship also made him more accustomed to going straight.

"Based on the development plans reported by various departments and the form of the Internet, we initially plan to raise $250 million in Series B! The specific financing targets are Carlyle Group, DFJ, Bain Capital, SoftBank and other private equity institutions. Tim, it's up to you to get the best for us. ”

"Understood!"

Tim George nodded solemnly. As CEO of LinkedIn, he has a responsibility.

………………………………………………………………